WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta issued the following statement on the start of Human Trafficking Awareness Month:
“During this month, we shine a light on the offenses of human trafficking and modern slavery, and recommit to ending practices that harm individuals, families, and communities. The Department of Labor will continue to call on our trading partners to take strong steps against trafficking, offering our assistance where requested, and enforcing trade agreement provisions. We must act to end exploitation and abusive labor practice

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced nearly $60 million in grants to NGOs and a range of organizations to promote labor law enforcement and help end exploitative labor practices in 25 trade partner countries. The grants will support projects to combat some of the most abusive labor practices, including the use of child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking in global supply chains. New technical assistance will also support trade partners’ compliance with the labor requirements of U.S. trade agreements and preference programs.
The new

WASHINGTON, DC – ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ The U.S. Department of Labor today released an update of its annual child labor report – representing the most comprehensive research product to date on the state of child labor in over 130 countries worldwide. The Department simultaneously released a new mobile app, Comply Chain, designed to help businesses root out child labor and forced labor from global supply chains.

WASHINGTON – A report released today under the labor chapter of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Trade and Labor Affairs identifies significant concerns regarding Colombian labor law enforcement, as well as concerns with the prosecution of cases of anti-union violence. The report responds to a submission filed under the CTPA by the AFL-CIO and five Colombian workers’ organizat

WASHINGTON – At 13, Sonia Pierre began her stand for workers’ rights in the Dominican Republic, leading a march to demand humane working conditions for sugar cane harvesters in the “batey” – the worker settlement in which she grew up.
From the single-room, dirt-floor barrack she shared with 12 siblings and her mother, Pierre’s journey took her to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, where her powerful testimony helped lead to a landmark decision protecting children whose lack of legal status in their country of birth left them vulnerable to exploitation. The

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs awarded a $7 million cooperative agreement to reduce child labor in targeted agricultural communities in Mexico. The four-year project, Campos de Esperanza, will be implemented by World Vision and will aid children engaged in or at high risk of entering child labor and their families by increasing their participation in education, training, and social protection programs. In addition, awareness will be raised among stakeholders to increase the promotion and protection of labor rights, specifically related to child labor an

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs awarded a $4 million project to the International Labor Organization to address child labor in the vanilla-growing areas of Madagascar. The project will provide livelihood services to households whose children are engaged in or at high risk of entering child labor in the Sava region. The project will also work with vanilla stakeholders to implement the recently-signed vanilla exporters’ code of conduct to eliminate child labor in the vanilla sector and build the capacity of labor law enforcement officials to enfo

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a $5 million cooperative agreement to reduce child labor in rural Zambia among adolescent girls, ages 15-17, by increasing access to quality formal and non-formal education and training.
The agreement with Winrock International will provide direct educational assistance to 2,500 adolescent girls engaged in or at high risk of entering child labor. The four year EMPOWER project will also promote peer support, business and social networks for ad